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Paper short abstract

This presentation discusses the inter-connections of African beliefs in the supernatural world and the physical world, and how these beliefs are presented in indigenous folktale narratives and novels. The discussion would be done against the backdrop of Western and Eastern African folktale cultures.

Paper long abstract

In some African cultures, it is believed that the physical world is controlled by the spirit world or by supernatural forces. Onongha (2023) posits that the major components of the African cosmos are essentially spiritual in nature.” (Onongha, 2023, p.1) This presentation takes a look at the inter-connections of the physical and spiritual world through depictions of folktales and fiction across selected African cultures. As such, the presentation would focus on cause and effects in the spirit and physical world as well as how curses and agreements function in the physical as well as the supernatural. This discussion would employ the creative works of writers from the East and West of Africa as practical examples of the inter-connections of African spirituality to the mundane existence of everyday people. The traditional folktale cultures of West African communities would also be highlighted by discussing how elements of the supernatural in folktales connects and influences not only creative writers but daily human life and existence. Some of the writers and their works that would be referred to are Jennifer. N. Makumbi’s Kintu, Francesca Ekwuyasi’s Butter Honey Pig Bread, Cyprian Ekwensi’s An African Night Entertainment, among others.